Season of Peace

Finding hope from fear, depression, anxiety and panic attacks.

Peace

Is Freedom from Fear and Panic Attacks Possible?

by

Is Freedom from Fear and Panic Attacks Really Possible?Through most of my early life, when fear and panic attacks were rampant, I would often ask myself this question: can I really be free from this?

Back in the 80’s when I was really struggling with panic attacks, there was no diagnosis for this condition, not even a term called  panic attacks. I was often diagnosed with nerves or stress. Later in college, a psychiatrist diagnosed me correctly with “chronic panic disorder.” It finally had a name. I was prescribed tranquilizers, sleeping pills and other treatments for stress. While these worked temporarily, they didn’t really solve my problem. I was still held captive by fear often resulting in panic attacks.

I started to believe that maybe I would have this condition for the rest of my life. Or, I would have to take medication everyday for the rest of my life. There was even a time I thought God was telling me I would have panic attacks till the day I died.

Today, I believe something much different. I now believe with all of my heart that freedom is possible for everyone. God does not favor one person over another (Acts 10:34), and Jesus died so that we can all be “blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven” (Ephesians 1:3).

I no longer battle with panic attacks. I also no longer take medication for anxiety and panic attacks. You can read my story about medication here.

I remember the day when hope came alive in me, that freedom was truly possible. I was sitting in a counseling office. Again. What questions would this guy ask? I no longer had to rehearse my answers. I had talked about my “condition” so many times before.

But this time was different. Instead of asking me questions, he told him his story about panic attacks. Immediately, he had my attention. He shared how it crippled him for years, how it caused his world to shrink, and how he had no hope for so long. But then, he shared how he was now completely free. No more panic attacks. I was really listening!

That day sparked a new hope in me. It started me on a journey to freedom. I believed I could be free from this crippling condition.

Today, I shout it from the rooftops: FREEDOM IS POSSIBLE!

There is Hope

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23).

Hope is powerful! The biggest enemy to freedom is losing hope. It’s too easy to give up and surrender to fear when you have no hope.

I pray that this message will rekindle hope in you, that you will begin to believe that freedom is possible.

Fear and Panic Attacks are Not from God

I used to think this “thorn in the flesh” was from God, to keep my humble and to teach me how to trust in him. I no longer think like that.

In John 10:10, Jesus makes it very clear what his purpose is, and what the enemy’s purpose is:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).

It’s very clear. Does fear and panic attacks “steal, kill and destroy”? Or, does fear and panic attacks “give you a rich and satisfying life”? Jesus removed all doubt who is the source of  fear and panic attacks.

With God, All Things are Possible

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? “(Genesis 18:14).

Jesus said, “What is impossible for people is possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

I now believe that it is possible to be completely free from anxiety, fear and panic attacks. Nothing is too hard for God. He is able to set you free. I really believe that because I have seen it in my own life, and in the lives of many others.

If you want to read more, below are a series of articles I wrote that chronicle my journey to freedom:

Prayer: Father, I may have been hopeless for a long time, but today, let your hope come alive in me. Show me that I can experience freedom from fear, anxiety and panic attacks.

Are Panic Attacks Physical, Mental or Spiritual? Yes.

by

Are Panic Attacks Physical, Mental or Spiritual? Yes.When it comes to anxiety and panic attacks, I’m often asked if it’s a physical experience, a mental struggle or a spiritual battle. In my own experience and what I’ve heard from others, it’s rooted in all three areas.

Think about water for a moment. It can exists in three distinct states — liquid (water), vapor (steam) and solid (ice). Like water, our being consists of three distinct elements–physical, mental and spiritual. Paul closes out his first letter to the Thessalonians with this encouragement, “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v5:23, emphasis mine). That is my prayer over you as well, that God would help you find freedom in your spirit and soul and body.

I hear many stories from those struggling, and very few pursue healing in all three areas. Often, people will pursue a bodily solution (like medication and exercise), but neglect the mental and spiritual aspects. Others may combine body and soul (like exercise and counseling), but neglect the spiritual. And, even faithful believers may focus primarily on the spiritual side of freedom (prayer and deliverance) but neglect the physical and mental aspects.

True freedom comes when you address all these areas.

The Body

Panic attacks are a very physical experience. Your body responds with increased adrenaline, rapid heart beat, shallow breathing and increased blood pressure. It’s getting ready to run or fight. Blood is pumped to your arms for fighting and legs for running. (Ever notice your hands tingling or getting cold?) Acid is released in your stomach to quickly digest food for energy. (Ever get butterflies in your stomach?) Your body is responding to a threat, either real or imagined.

There are certain triggers that can escalate that fight or flight mode, like caffeine or sugar. And, there are physical things you can do to reduce the anxiety, like exercise or medication. Early in my struggles, I found some peace with medication, but today I’m medication free by focusing on diet and exercise to help me release that excessive adrenaline. You can read more on my story about medication. (There maybe other medical triggers causing the anxiety and panic attacks. While it’s very rare, you should talk to you doctor.)

The Soul

The soul is your mind, that part of you that makes choices. The soul is where your memories live and your emotions are experienced. It’s an incredibly complex system of thoughts, ideas, choices and perspectives.

It’s also where anxiety and panic attacks are triggered. Just like the body can trigger those terrifying feelings, so can your soul. Maybe it’s a traumatic memory or a painful parental wound, the soul can initiate those experiences with fear.

When I was in college and the “episodes of fear” were rampant in my life, I made an appointment with a counselor who began sharing with me information about a term I had never heard before: “panic attacks”. A few years later, I began meeting regularly with a pastor who had experienced the same thing, but was now free. He began to teach me about my thoughts and choices, and how to renew my mind (Romans 12:2). But, he didn’t stop there. He began to teach me about…

The Spirit

Understanding the spiritual side of panic attacks changed everything for me. I believe it’s what gave me the edge to find true, complete freedom. Sadly, I believe it’s where most people fall short. The more I began to understand the truth, the more freedom I began to experience. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (Romans 8:32).

Regarding the spiritual side of fear and panic attacks, here are a few of the key topics that were incredibly helpful:

Grace

Understanding the finished work of Christ and all he has done for us has revolutionized my relationship with God. Here are a few messages I wrote about grace:

Authority

Even today, I don’t completely understand all of the authority that we truly have as believers. God has given us amazing authority here on the earth (Luke 10:19), and I believe the enemy’s greatest strategy is to keep us blind to our authority.

If we truly knew how big and powerful we were and just how small and powerless the enemy was, it would change everything.

Freedom

Combining all that I learned about the spiritual side of freedom, I chronicled my journey in this series of articles:

Prayer: Father, help me understand the importance of all three areas — body, soul and spirit. Teach me to put all my trust in you, and help me to know the truth so that I can walk in true freedom.

Finding True Rest

by

Finding True RestFor anyone who has battled anxiety or panic attacks, the thought of rest can feel foreign, even elusive. Racing thoughts, constant anxiety, and an unsettledness seems to linger no matter how much we pray.

Over the years, and especially in the past couple of years, I’ve experienced a wonderfully deep sense of rest in my soul. It’s not so much the rest from being free from anxiety and panic attacks, although that’s part of it. It’s a deep sense of rest in my relationship with God. That Divine rest has been an anchor in my soul for all the other rest.

Hebrews 4:11 says we should diligently work or even “labor” to enter into this rest of God. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?  Work hard to find rest. The rest of God is so important that we should diligently pursue it, for when we find it, then we can experience such an abundant life (John 10:10).

Here’s what I’ve learned about God’s rest.

You can’t find rest in what you see around you

God prepared the Promised Land for the children of Israel. As Moses led them through the wilderness, they came to the edge of this new territory. It was time to enter in, so they sent spies to see what was before them.

That was their first mistake. Why didn’t they just believe God? Why did they have to see it with their own eyes?

The key to finding rest is to not focus on what you see, but focus on what God says. The Bible says it this way, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). When you focus on what you see, you will be discouraged. You will not be able to rest in circumstances. You must find rest in “things above”.

To effectively take your eyes off of this world and to “look above”, it starts with what you believe.

Rest comes from what we believe

The greatest revelation I’ve experienced over these past couple of years is what Christ has done for me. His death and resurrection have wiped away all of my sin. God no longer sees me as a sinner, but as a saint. Jesus took my sin and gave me his righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, I can come boldly into the throne of grace in my time of need (Hebrews 4:11). God is no longer counting sins against me (2 Corinthians 5:19). They have been removed from me as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

Do you ever wonder…

  • Does God hear my prayers?
  • Has God abandoned me?
  • Have I sinned so badly that God won’t answer my prayers?
  • Maybe I’ve committed the unpardonable sin.
  • I sinned too much and I can’t be forgiven.

These are all lies! In Christ…

  • God hears your prayers.
  • God has not abandoned you.
  • All of your sin–ALL OF IT—has been taken away
  • If you’re worried that you’ve committed the unpardonable sin, then you haven’t.
  • Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.

We have been lied to for so long that we find it hard to believe God really loves us and accepts us in Christ. We focus too much on our performance and not enough on the performance of Christ. God does not relate to us through our obedience, but through the obedience of Christ. What we do or don’t do should not determine how we relate to God.

By his grace, we are saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8). “Through faith.” It’s all about what we believe. If you can believe that God loves you, wants you and invites you into his presence as you are, you will find incredible rest!

Prayer: Father, help me to see all that Christ has done for me so that I can enter into the rest you have prepared for me, not by what I do, but by what I believe.

Grace: The Freedom to Laugh and Enjoy Life

by

Grace: The Freedom to Laugh and Enjoy LifeFor anyone who has struggled through this dark night of the soul regarding fear, anxiety and panic attacks, joy can be elusive. The pain, confusion and heaviness of fear often leaves us exhausted. There’s no joy and laughter.

One of God’s greatest gifts to us is joy. When Jesus died on the cross, he took away all of our sins and gave us the opportunity to have a new life–a life of joy and peace. John 10:10 describes it this way: “[Jesus] came that we might have life and life more abundantly.”

Grace paves the way for us to experience God’s joy!

The World’s Joy

I was talking to a lady awhile back who described her childhood as one filled with drinking, partying and lots of people laughing. As she grew older, she associated these “fun times” with evil behavior. So, in her mind, she wanted to avoid anything resembling that kind of “fun.” It became very difficult for her to experience any joy and laughter, because in her mind, anything “fun” was evil. Later in her life, she began to understand this mis-association and started to enjoy life more.

Lots of believers today struggle to experience joy in their lives because of this mis-association with fun. Each of us has a desire to experience joy. God put characteristics of himself into each of us. We were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and because of that, God created us to experience joy and for his own joy. God rejoices over you!

For the LORD your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Zephaniah 3:17

Much of the world’s fun and laughter is really just a counterfeit. It is man’s attempt to experience what God created us for–to enjoy life. We often strive to fill this legitimate need for joy in an illegitimate way.

A few months ago, I traveled to Las Vegas for work. While I was there, walking around the downtown area, I was mesmerized by all the sights and sounds of Vegas. I had been there many times before, but this visit was different. I began thinking about all the vain promises of Vegas–money, pleasure and power. Then, it hit me–this is a counterfeit for heaven.

The allure of Vegas for many is this deep craving for true joy. This “joy” of Vegas will always be short-lived and temporary. While it may be fun for a moment, it is not everlasting joy. Only God provides true, everlasting joy. Heaven will be a place of incredible beauty, wealth and joy.

Here’s the incredible truth: we don’t need to wait till heaven to experience all that God has for us. The Kingdom life that heaven provides is already ours today through faith in Christ. When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), all of the work required to bring heaven to earth was completed. Paul said it this way, “[God] has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

Heaven is ours today!

God’s Presence – Cartoons and PB&J

As a worship leader, Steve was familiar with drawing people into the presence of God. Each weekend, he would lead people in worship and many would experience God’s presence and incredible joy.

One Saturday morning, Steve was going through his normal routine. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then sit down to watch some Saturday morning cartoons. All of sudden, he felt God’s presence. His gut reaction was to stop everything, turn off the TV and “enter in”. But, God whispered to him, “I just want to sit down and watch cartoons with you.”

I love this story because it reminds me that God just wants to spend time with us. Even in those little things that bring us joy, he is there. And, he wants to draw you into more of those moments of joy and pleasure. Through Christ and his finished work on the cross, there is nothing keeping you from experiencing God’s joy, peace and presence.

Prayer: Father, help me experience more of your joy. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and in my life as it is already in heaven.

A few months ago, Christian comedian Michael Jr. put on a show at our church, and it was hilarious!

Here’s a small snippet for you to enjoy. Don’t forget to laugh!

Finding Peace through Transformation

by

Finding Peace through TransformationAnyone who has struggled with anxiety, fear or panic attacks knows that peace can be elusive. We search, we struggle, and we desperately grasp for whatever peace we can find. For some, temporary peace comes through worldly escapes like food, alcohol, medication and entertainment. For others, there’s no peace at all–just a sleepless, continual torment.

Deep inside each of us, though, is a craving and desire for true peace. We want our bodies and our minds to be at rest, but the battle within just seems to rage on. Where is that peace? How can we find it?

Let me start by sharing three ways we wrongly search for peace:

Try Harder

In the “try harder” solution, we carry the burden of finding peace. Results are our responsibility, the fruit of our effort. It’s pretty common in the American culture to expect results from trying harder. We find it in schools, in our jobs, in almost every area of our life. “Just try harder, and then you’ll succeed.”

Here’s the problem–it doesn’t bring true, complete healing. Sure, there are some areas of success that come through trying harder, but they are often superficial and short lived. Trying harder puts all of the burden and effort on you.

Trying harder also has the exact opposite effect. The more strength, effort and emotional energy you pour into trying harder, the more adrenaline you release and the more anxiety you create. It’s like blowing on a campfire trying to put it out. You would think that it would help, but you end up feeding the fire more oxygen, and then it burns hotter. The same is true with trying harder–it only feeds the anxiety.

Wait on God

If trying harder is at one end of the self-effort spectrum, then waiting on God is at the other. It’s the notion that we can do nothing on our own, so wait on God. Like the “try harder” solution, there are certain elements of truth in each of these solutions. Sure, there are times we need to engage our will and there are times we need to wait on God. What I’m referring to, however, is that passive “waiting” that does nothing to change.

Yes, there are times we need to wait on God, but it’s far more important that we press in to God, hear his voice and respond to him. Simply waiting on God and doing nothing will not bring lasting peace into our lives.

More Information

Another common response is more information. Over  the past two decades, access to information has increased tremendously. There are massive amounts of books, teachings, seminars, workshops, how-to’s and litany of informational resources. Again, information is not bad. We are to grow in our understanding and knowledge, but information alone cannot transform us. Knowing the truth in our mind does not make it real in our heart.

Look at the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. They were a wealth of information and knowledge. They knew the scriptures inside and out. If information alone could bring healing, then these guys would have walked in complete freedom. But, they didn’t. Knowledge and information did not change their hearts.

So, what is the solution? Is there hope for those struggling to find peace? Yes! There is hope! The key is transformation through revelation.

Transformation

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

They key to finding peace is not trying harder, waiting on God or learning the right information–the key to finding peace is transformation that comes through believing what God says. Let me explain.

For transformation to take place, we must surrender to God’s way of doing things instead of trying to make it happen on our own. God created each of us to be transformed into the image of his son (Romans 8:29). When we were saved, we were given a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19) and we are now a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are transformed when we believe the truth of what God says about us.

“Without faith, it’s impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). God is not pleased with our own strength and efforts to find peace. God is pleased when we believe what he says about us. This week, I encourage you to take time to listen to God’s voice. Let him speak his transforming love over you. God is at work in you, and he desires for you to live a life full of peace. If you’re not sure how to hear God, check out this article on Hearing God.

Prayer: Father, open up my spiritual eyes to your transformation process. Help me surrender to the healing work of Christ in my life.